Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Trump's Tax Cut for the Rich

(Washington, D.C.) Donald Trump released a tax plan today that is missing some details. But a preliminary analysis of the plan by Citizens for Tax Justice finds that it would cost nearly $11 trillion in its first decade. The plan would reduce taxes on all income groups, but by far the biggest beneficiaries would be the very wealthy.

Following is a statement about the plan by Robert McIntyre, director of Citizens for Tax Justice:

“Yet another presidential candidate is making a mockery of populism by trumpeting a massive tax break for the rich as a plan that will benefit average Americans. The top 1 percent of Americans will receive an average tax break of $184,000 per year while the bottom 20 percent will receive an average tax cut of only $250.

“Trump claims the plan will be revenue neutral, but he has made bombastic exaggerations before and this time is no different. In fact, there is no possibility that this plan would not be a gigantic tax cut for the rich and a gigantic revenue loser for the government.

“Trump claims he will pay for the plan by closing tax loopholes for the rich. But in truth, his plan would expand loopholes for the rich and cut their tax rate by 40 percent. His plan also would cut the corporate tax from 35 to 15 percent, which also would mainly benefit the rich. And his plan repeals the estate tax, a tax that only the very richest of the rich pay.

“The most widely promoted tax hike in Trump’s plan, closing the carried interest loophole, would barely amount to a slap on the wrist for the hedge fund millionaires Trump says should pay more. The top tax rate on carried interest would increase only from the current 23.8 percent to 25 percent. But this small tax hike would be dwarfed for wealthy money managers by dropping the top regular income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent."

A table showing the likely effects of Trump’s tax plan follows:

To view the CTJ report on Trump's plan, go to:http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2015/09/donald_trumps_10_trillion_tax_cut.php#.VgrNIfTiNSE